Interview: Jaime St. James of Black N Blue

I called a very excitable and energetic Jaime St. James this weekend and had a wonderful conversation about Black N Blue, his influence, the new record “Hell Yeah” and everything Jaime St. James.

We started talking about the positive review of “Hell Yeah” before its May 17th release. Jaime was very happy with the end product and felt the reviews are warranted because it’s a kick ass record that he is extremely excited about.

“Hell Yeah’ began recording in 2003, so I asked Jaime why there was such a big delay. Jaime was very matter-of-fact that it was a series of personal / band events that delayed the record (him joining Warrant, the loss of a studio, other commitments, etc.). Once they were in the studio, the actual recording did not take very long.

Jaime also said the record started as a solo project, but the sound exploded into a Black N Blue album. This was made possible by four out of five members returning. The last member who couldn’t make it was, of course, Tommy Thayer and everyone understood because of “a great gig with KISS.” Jaime didn’t want to sit on this great music, so he moved forward with some sadness because Jaime and Tommy founded the band together. All tracks were played for Tommy and he loved them.

More with Jaime after the warp:

We talked about the fun moments on the album, such as “Jaime Got A Beer.” Jaime said the funny part was he wasn’t even in the studio for that, and he didn’t necessarily think it should be on the album. The song has one of those “rock ‘n roll stories” behind it and the band thought it showed their sense of humour.

On the topic of touring, Jaime mentioned their M3 appearance and hopes of more. He left the topic with “You never know.”

I asked if Black N Blue actually ever broke up and Jaime feels that after losing their record deal in 1989, the guys were disillusioned and didn’t really know what to do. The band kind of just went their own ways and started other projects.

Jaime’s time with Warrant was a good experience, but when Jani Lane came back, they told him it was over. After Jaime left again, Warrant showed no interest in bringing him back because he was very happy being the voice of Black N Blue. He did expand on this, saying that current Warrant singer Robert Mason has a great voice, but feels people would like to see Jani back with Warrant. Jaime doesn’t know what the personal issue with Warrant and Jani are, but feels it is not his place to comment on it.

Gene Simmons provided two albums in the past for Black N Blue, but this time around Jaime felt no one knows the sound of Black N Blue as well as himself, so why bring in a producer. “We didn’t need that shit,” he said.

I wanted to know if the fun / party needed to be brought back to metal. Jaime said he always brings the party when he steps on stage and that is what it has to be. “Rock n’ roll fun” best summed up his feeling of singing on stage.

With is long and distinguished career, I asked who he could look to for influence now. Jaime said guys like Steven Tyler, Alice Cooper and bands like AC/DC and KISS made him who he is. They may not be what influence his music to this day, but he will always look to them.

I ended by congratulating Jaime on the May 17th release of “Hell Yeah” and he sent a shout out to “all the rockers out there.”

Interviewing stars can always be stressful, but speaking to someone with the energy and enthusiasm of Jaime St. James makes me realize why I do this.